Duarte Unified School Board appoints new member

The Duarte Unified school board recently appointed the Rev. Douglas Edwards to fill a vacant seat on the board.

Edwards was chosen in an unanimous decision at last week’s board meeting, President Kenneth Bell said.

“He was a great fit at least to us,” said Bell.

The vacancy was created when long-time school board member Francisco Figueroa resigned in July.

Twelve people applied to fill the seat.

Edwards, who is the director of church outreach for a non-profit Presbyterian retirement housing organization, be.group, will be appointed until the term expires in November 2015.

“I applied because I’ve had seven years of service in the district and wanted to help them accomplish their dreams as a volunteer working on the sidelines and (now) as a board member,” said Edwards, 61. “We were all working to achieve their goals and their vision is worthy of getting further involved.”

Bell said Edwards’ experience on committees and involvement in programs within the school district and his educational background were some of the reasons he was chosen.

“To get passed the 11 people he had to, he had to be good,” Bell said.

Edwards also teaches parenting courses at Pasadena City College and is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice.

Each of the 12 applicants submitted answers to 12 to 14 questions about their background and why they wanted to apply for the position, Bell said.

During Thursday’s meeting, the applicants were given a copy of the board’s policies and were asked to explain how they would operate in accordance with the board’s goals and protocols.

“It was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had as a community member, to see the quality of people that applied to serve,” said Bell.